1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a standby power cut-off device and a control method for the same, and more particularly, to a standby power cut-off device installed in an electronic product to automatically cut off standby power and a control method for the standby power cut-off device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As electronic products using semiconductors are increasing along with the development of the electronic industry, predetermined standby power is consumed even when the power of an electronic product is cut off. As a result, 11% to 15% of the total power consumed in homes and companies is wasted by the standby power. Statistics show that power loss amounting to several hundreds of billions won per year occurs due to the standby power.
By reducing the standby power, energy can be saved and CO2 emission caused by power generation can be reduced, thereby delaying environmental pollution and global warming. Consequently, various countries of the world have established standby power standards for reducing standby power and have exerted much effort to develop techniques for reducing standby power in cooperation with the industry.
As an approach to reduce standby power, a switch has been installed in a multi-outlet for power on/off. However, this approach has outlived its utility because of inconvenience in use in a power-off state. Korean Patent Publication Nos. 10-2004-0020344 and 10-2006-0042781 disclose methods for cutting off power by measuring standby current. The standby power cut-off methods for a computer disclosed in the aforementioned publications cut off standby current power by measuring standby current flowing in the computer, but another standby power is generated in a circuit necessary for control. Moreover, standby power varies from electronic product to electronic product, making it difficult to discriminately control the standby power. Furthermore, an electronic product having a remote control receiver consumes additional standby power for reception.
Accordingly, there is an urgent need for a standby power cut-off device and method for solving the foregoing problems.